(Optional) To customize the font, such as type or size, click the letter A next to the emoticon button.

IM Recipient Options

When someone sends you an instant message, an instant message alert appears in the lower-right corner of your computer screen. Do one of the following:

To accept the invitation, click the alert.

To redirect the invitation, click Redirect.

To decline the invitation, click Ignore.

How to Send an Instant Message

*There are no spoken directions in this video.

Start a Group IM Conversation

You can start a group instant messaging (IM) conversation by selecting multiple contacts or a contact group from your Contacts list, or you can turn an IM conversation with one person into a group conversation.

To start a group conversation from the Contacts list:

Hold down the Ctrl key, and click each contact that you want to invite.

Right-click the last contact, and then click Send an Instant Message.

Type your message in the message input area, and then press Enter.

QA

To start a group conversation from a conversation window:

Click the People Options menu, click Invite by Name or Phone Number, and then select the contacts that you want to invite.

Enhance Your IM Conversations

With Lync 2010, you can add communication modes to your IM conversation. For example, you can start an IM conversation with a single contact, add more contacts, and then add audio and video. If you need to share documents or slides, you can share your desktop.

To add voice or video, in the conversation window, do any of the following:

To add voice, click Call.

To add video, click Video to add video.

To invite others, in the conversation window, click the arrow to the right of People Options, and then select the contacts that you want to invite.

To share your desktop or a program, in the conversation window, click the Share menu, and then select your desktop, monitor, or a program to share.

Collaboration

File Transfers

From a Windows folder, drag the file that you want to send, and drop it into a conversation window or onto a contact in your Contacts list.

When you drop the file, a file transfer invitation is sent to the recipient. You will receive notification when the transfer is complete or declined.

Please note that, currently, to transfer a file, you must be connected to the Internet via a wired connection.

Attach a file to a conversation

You can share a file with multiple people in a group conversation, meeting, or conference call, but you don’t send it in the same way that you transfer a file to an individual contact. Instead, you add attachments to the meeting that other participants can download and view.

In the conversation window, click the Add or view Attachments button to upload a file.

In the Attachments dialog box, click Add Attachments.

Select the file that you want to add, and then click Upload.

Create a Poll

Polling allows you to quickly gather information or compile the preferences of meeting participants. A poll in Lync consists of one question and up to seven Lync Lypossible choices.

A meeting can contain many polls, but only one poll at a time can appear on the sharing stage, visible to all meeting participants. Only meeting presenters can create and manage polls. If you are not already a presenter, the meeting organizer or another presenter can make you one.

In the meeting window, click the Share menu, and then click New Poll.

In the Create a Poll dialog box, type a name for your poll, your question, and two or more possible answers.

Click OK.

If no one else in the meeting is sharing, your poll appears immediately to everyone in the meeting with the words Polls are open at the bottom of the stage. If other sharing is taking place, you have the option to share your poll immediately, which would end the current sharing session, or save your poll in the content bin for later.

When polling is complete, save the poll results by clicking Save poll at the bottom of the sharing stage, and then click Close the poll.

Whiteboard

The whiteboard is a fresh page for notes and drawings that everyone in the meeting can use together.

In the conversation window, click the Share menu, and then click New Whiteboard.

To start writing or drawing on the whiteboard, use the annotation tools at the lower left of the whiteboard.

Sharing

Share a Program

In the Share Programs dialog box, click the program you want to share, and then click Share.

How to Share a Program

*There are no spoken directions in this video.

Share a PowerPoint

To give a presentation during a Lync meeting or IM conversation:

In the conversation window, click the Share menu, and then click PowerPoint Presentation.

In the Share PowerPoint dialog box, double-click the PowerPoint presentation that you want to share. When the content is prepared for presentation and uploaded, the other participants will be able to see your presentation. You can make annotations on the presentation using the annotation tools at the lower left of the presentation.

How to Share a PowerPoint

*There are no spoken directions in this video.

Share Your Desktop

To share your desktop:

Open Lync 2010, and, in your Contacts list, double-click a contact.

When the conversation window opens, click Share.

If you have more than one monitor, click the one you want to share.

How to Share Your Desktop

*There are no spoken directions in this video.

Give Control to Others

When you start sharing your desktop or a program, you’re the only one in control. When you’re ready, you can allow others to use their own mouse and keyboard to navigate and make changes on your computer.

On the sharing bar at the top of the screen, click Give Control.

Click Automatically accept control requests, or click the name of an individual under Attendees.

Take Back Control

To take back control of your desktop, monitor, or program:

Click Give Control. If Automatically accept control requests is selected, click it to clear it. To take back control from an individual, click Take Back Control.

A new meeting request opens, to which you add recipients, a subject line, and other meeting details.

How to Schedule an Online Meeting

*There are no spoken directions in this video.

Set Meeting Options

The meeting request contains the dial-in information that the participant can use to join the audio part of the meeting or conference call. During the Lync meeting, dial-in information is available in the Invite by Phone dialog box (click the People Options menu, and then click Invite by Phone).

You can customize the dial-in information in the Outlook meeting request. You can also customize access and presenters.

In the meeting request, on the Meeting tab, click Meeting Options.

In the Online Meeting Optionsdialog box:

To control meeting access and presenter options, click Access and Presenters.

To customize dial-in information, click Audio and Phone.

With the Meet Now option, you can quickly start a meeting or conference call with people inside or outside your organization.

In the Lync main window, click the arrow to the right of the Options button, and then click Meet Now.

In the conversation window, do any of the following:

To invite someone inside your organization, click the People Options menu, click Invite by Name or Phone Number, and then select a contact.

To invite someone outside your organization by email, click the People Options menu, and then click Invite by Email. An email message opens in Outlook. (If you do not have Outlook, copy the invitation text, and paste it into your email program.)

You can also add contacts to the meeting by dragging the contact from the Contacts list into the conversation window.

Join a Scheduled Online Meeting

How to Join an Scheduled Online Meeting

*There are no spoken directions in this video.

Differences on Mac

Lync varies in appearance slightly between Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. While there is some visual variation, most of the functionality that you'll find in the Windows version of Lync will also be found in the Mac version.

The following section will provide a quick reference to the differences between the two interfaces and a summary of any functionality that may, currently, differ between the two environments.

So let's start with the main Lync window...

Windows Lync and Mac Lync, Side-by-Side

A comprehensive matrix of the differences between Windows and Mac is available via Microsoft's Technet.